A Small Sacrifice
by anorc
Summary: The story behind Harry's incredible protection, made from a mothers love, and a bit of illegal sacrificial magic. And James Potter's love, and the true reason Harry sucks at Flooing and Portkeys, but is awesome on a broom, on his first flight at Hogwarts.


**A Small Sacrifice.**

Lily Potter leaned back in the captains chair at her desk. She definitely had an idea of how to protect her dear little Harry now, but she had to tell James. There was no way she could organise this and have her stir-crazy cabin fever husband not notice.

"James, Love" she called, pulling her red hair back.

"Lil's" said James, hurrying into the spare room that was their study.

Lily turned her chair. And blinked. James had a purple jersey with yellow polka-dots on. For a twenty one year old, it was rather childish.

"Harry did it" said James proudly.

Lily boggled. He was only thirteen months, and he had accidental magic transfiguring things. Her boy was going to be a powerful wizard. Hopefully, they would sit the rest of the war out under this fidelius charm, and get back to real life. There was a yowl in the distance.

"James, did you leave Harry on his broom" asked Lily.

"Look, it's perfectly safe, he can't fall off or hit anything"

"Poor Farradoodle gets chased around all around the house"

"Harry loves her" said James "And he's going to be the greatest Quidditch player in the world"

"Harry is not playing Quidditch. Not until he's old enough to cast arresto-momentum and snap shield for bludgers." said Lily.

"That's a foul, the other team would get free possession of the quaffle"

"Our son is not going to spend all of his time at Hogwarts in the infirmary." said Lily.

"So you've given up wanting to send him to Beauxbatons"

"Only because he needs to meet the other kids his age in England, because… family stuff"

James sighed "Look, we don't have to do that old fogey stuff"

"You should bloody well vote on legislation, James Potter" barked Lily.

"After we're safe" he said, reassuringly.

"About that. I've got an idea for a backup plan, in case you-now-who manages to get to us" said Lily.

"That's very unlikely, but it's worth making a good plan"

"We can, well, use sacrificial magic to protect Harry"

James spluttered "Lily! That stuff's illegal, and dark!"

"Don't be silly, we just put Harry's crib over a runic circle, arm it with a drop of our blood, and if we have to fight you-know-who; the circle will protect Harry… if the worst happens" said Lily, eyes filling with tears.

"Oh lil" said James, and kissed his wife. Five minutes of snogging later, he said "So, could we help Harry in other ways using sacrificial magic" he asked.

"Our, um, demises to protect Harry would power the protection. We couldn't use the circle for anything else." said Lily, adjusting her blouse.

"What if we sacrificed some tiny thing of Harry's for something really good" said James.

"Like what?" asked Lily. James's ideas were sometimes insane, but they worked remarkably well rather more often than Lily Evans had ever been happy with. Lily Potter just accepted that her husband had a special mind. Like a corkscrew.

"We sacrifice, I dunno, his flooing and portkey ability for enhanced broom flying. Nobody really uses portkeys or floo, and it's make him more than safe on a broom; even as a small child he could out-fly anyone and escape danger. When he's grown up he'll apparate everywhere."

"With a little remedial training , nobody would ever notice how bad he was a flooing" said Lily, thoughtfully.

An hour later, a runic circles in the small basement held Harry, and his toy broom. James placed a small transfigured key and a transfigured fireplace in another runic circle, the touched Harry's circle at one point. Lily reached over to little Harry, who was watching everything oddly. Lily suspected Harry had James's terrible eyesight. That might explain why Harry always bumped the cat with his broom. She touched her wand to Harry's hand a pulled a single drop of blood painlessly from him.

She put it on the join, and poured her magic into the runes. The two circles lit with purple flames, the key and fireplace crumbled to ash and Harry grabbed his broom "brom" he said.

"Well we've done it, and it was a small sacrifice" said Lily.

James picked up Harry and said "And now my little man's going to be the greatest Quidditch player ever!"

Lily looked up at James "You are sleeping on the couch." she said. "I thought this was about keeping Harry safe, but it was all about making him into a Quidditch star" she continues, sounding very cross.

"He might be good a Quidditch, but his flying will protect him. Hell, with the flying power he has now, he could out-fly a bloody dragon!"

"There's no earthly reason Harry would have to out-fly a dragon. You're sleeping on the couch tonight. And tomorrow" said Lily angrily.

"What about the protection circle, the backup plan" asked James, serious now.

"You carve the runes onto the floor in the nursery. Under the rug." said Lily. "It'll give you something to do with your hands" she said, standing, taking Harry and carrying him off "Mummy's got you Harry" she said. "We're going to keep you safe"

Lily was woken three hours later by James "It's done" he said, shaking her shoulder gently.

"You what?" she mumbled, pulling her hair out of her eyes "How did you carve all that… in what three hours" she said, looking at the bedside clock

"I applied myself" he said proudly.

Lily got up leaving little Harry sleeping in the big bed and went to the nursery. James really had engraved the whole rune scheme in a circle under where the crib normally sat.

"One drop each" said Lily, and two young parents put a drop of blood each onto the runes.

"Now we force magic into it" said Lily grimly. "Full of intent to protect"

"How much?" asked James.

"Keep going till you feel faint" she said. "It'll latch up the Eihwaz's and bind on, then if the worst happens, that will beef it up to being like a supercharged Protego Horriblis."

"How supercharged are you talking?"

"Depends on us. You're good for eighty seven thousand thaums right?"

"In the morning maybe"

"So I can put in seventy nine thousand or so"

"One hundred and sixty thousand isn't that dangerous" said James "Dumbledore's rumoured to be able to do that on his own"

"Once it's topped up by, um a sacrifice, it should be over nine hundred thousand." said Lily.

"Crikey, that'd blow the wall off" said James.

"Harry would be safe" said Lily. "And if it was ever, um both of us, it's be nearly two million."

"It'd be practically solid at two million."

"It would take some improbable circumstances to happen, but Eisenstien theorises it would be a permanent charm at around one point five million thaums"

"A permanent protection?"

"Well, only against whoever triggered the rune cluster"

"Even you-know-who?"

"He'd be safe" said Lily "Sirius could raise him, and you-know-who would die just touching him"

James snorted "Sirius would have him in a black leather jacket on a motor bike before he was ten"

"Harry will be fine" said Lily firmly, and hugged her husband.

Time passed. They breathed.

"Well, we'd better got back to bed, and put Harry in his cot of ultimate protection" said James.

"You're still sleeping on the couch, for tricking me into making Harry a super-powered Quidditch player" said Lily crossly.

"It was a small sacrifice" said James.


End file.
